Oil Minister: Iraq Will Move to Annul Kurdish Oil Deals

 

Courts will let ministry oversee Kurdish production

by Jason Ditz 

Posted onJuly 7, 2022CategoriesNewsTagsIraq

Setting the stage for a surge in regional tensions, the Iraqi Oil Minister, Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismail says the government is preparing to move against the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) existing oil deals.

Earlier this year, the Iraqi courts gave the Oil Ministry absolute oversight of Kurdish oil production. This is a controversial topic because oil is most of Kurdistan’s economy.

The national and regional governments were meant to work this out together, but this didn’t happen, and the court ruling means the ministry can just unilaterally impose its wishes on the Kurds.

This was a big boost for the central government, as Kurdish oil is so valuable right now, and they can cancel all the existing deals and negotiate new ones they consider more favorable.

https://news.antiwar.com/2022/07/07/oil-minister-iraq-will-move-to-annul-kurdish-oil-deals/